Blog #40
By Kevin V. Hunt

We have seen many miracles in the development of the NEW NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK!

What? Is there a new brick in Nauvoo? Did I miss something? How and when did that come about?

The answer is a resounding “Yes! There is, indeed, a new souvenir brick for Nauvoo visitors. And it is very exciting! It is the “Nauvoo Temple Brick!”

Above: Top first sample brick pressed and fired and below, two unfired Temple Bricks

But, first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Elder E.H. “Gramps” Belcher, the “Nauvoo Brickmaker”. Happy 110th Birthday!

Above: Elder E.H. Belcher – “The Nauvoo Brickmaker”

INTRODUCING THE NEW “NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK”
The new brick will make its debut on March 9, 2025. This date was not pre-meditated, but it is a significant miracle that this debut does happen on the 110th anniversary of the birth of Elder E. H. Belcher, the missionary – even “The Nauvoo Brickmaker” – who created the original Nauvoo souvenir brick (yes, the one with word Nauvoo – and the mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphics) back in 1980! So, it is even more exciting that the new brick can honor him in this way – and can maintain the legacy that has been continuing now for 45 years in Nauvoo. What a legacy! Generations of Nauvoo visitors have come through those years and have one or multiple of the bricks proudly displayed in their homes.

THE FOCUS OF THE TEMPLE IN NAUVOO
When the pioneer Saints were here in the 1840’s the Temple was the focus of their every thought and action. On January 19, 1841, in Nauvoo, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation of the Lord and was instructed: “… Come ye, … and with all the precious things of the earth, build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein. … I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me. … my holy house, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name.” (D&C 124:26, 27, 39)

Joseph himself said that he received the plans for the Temple in vision from the Lord. He worked to instill that vision into the mind and hands of William Weeks, the Temple architect. He said to him, “I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building illuminated, and will have it built according to the pattern shown me.” —Joseph Smith, Jr.

I love that! “The building illuminated …” In his day, they had no gas or electric lights. All light came from windows and candles so it really would not have been “illuminated”. I like to think that he saw forward to our day when it truly is “illuminated” up on the hill. Such a grand scene.
From the time that Joseph Smith received the Temple revelation, the Saints sacrificed their all – their time and their means – for the Temple construction. All of the men willingly gave one day in ten – a tithe – for work on the Temple. All of the saints (including our own ancestors) looked forward to the grand day when the Temple would be completed so that they could receive the special blessings and ordinances that the Lord promised to them.

It is interesting, even glorious, to note the Temple focus even today in Nauvoo. From almost everywhere on the “lower flat” below Temple hill, the Temple can be seen looming upward in its majesty and glory. No matter where you are, you can see all or part of the Temple. The early Saints would also have been able to see the Temple, the workers, and even the daily progress as the walls and the structure took shape. The vision of the Temple gave them great hope and joy.

That is the way that it should be! The Temple was then and still should be the focus of our individual lives as we strive to live worthily, prepare to enter, and in the Temple participate in the sacred ordinances – the anointings, baptisms for the dead, solemn assemblies, receiving God’s statutes and judgments, and the endowment (which is a “gift” of knowledge of God’s eternal Plan for our life here on earth – and our eternal exaltation). (See D&C 124:39).

The Prophet Joseph worked to prepare the people for the Temple – in addition to the preparation of the physical building itself. That same Temple vision continues to be imparted to us in our modern day.
Our current Prophet and leader, President Russell M. Nelson has frequently taught us of the Temple and the need to make it a very real part of each of us.

President Nelson has said: “Everything we believe and every promise God has made to His covenant people come together in the temple. … — “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” October 2021 general conference “After we receive our own temple ordinances and make sacred covenants with God, each one of us needs the ongoing spiritual strengthening and tutoring that is only possible in the house of the Lord.” — “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” October 2018 general conference “Because Jesus Christ is at the center of everything we do in the temple, as you think more about the temple, you will be thinking more about Him.” — “Go Forward in Faith,” April 2020 general conference

That is the beauty of the new Nauvoo Temple Brick. As we put it on the mantles in our homes, we can be reminded of the glorious Nauvoo Temple and it can be a physical reminder of special times and ordinances made there with our families.

THE MIRACLE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK
Sister Hunt and I had the great opportunity and blessing to be involved in the development of the design for the new “Nauvoo Temple Brick”. (More on that later). We have been a part of the creation of the new brick from its beginning.

March 9th is the official debut date of the new brick but it took some effort ahead of then to get the new bricks to that point of coming out of the kiln.

February 28th, 2025 was the day to begin printing the new brick! Wow! We had worked toward this day for many months. We had worked to design the new brick, had guided (with inspiration of the Holy Ghost) its first artistic renderings with our children Kaylea and JD Stoddard, and Keith Hunt. We had worked with Midwest Patterns in Quincy, Illinois in the development and creation of the new mold.

We had maintained contact with President Daniel and Sister Rebecca Mehr (Site Leaders for the Illinois Historic Sites Mission), Keith, Corey of Midwest, and the Church History Department personnel. All approvals had been granted and the design had been approved. Just a few days before, the new mold had been “poured” and presented to Sister Hunt and me. It was ready for production … it was brick making time!
The day before, Sister Hunt and I had visited with President and Sister Mehr at the “mission home”. We had been the caretakers of the new molds for a week or so. We had held off any production until we could show them the new design and to get their direction to move forward. They had been away from Nauvoo dealing with a family death. But they were back and it was a good time to go see them. We went without an appointment and they graciously invited us into their home. (The same mission home – but remodeled somewhat – that I had known as a “young missionary” in Nauvoo.)

Above: The first “sample” (trial run) new brick – later tweaked and changed slightly

We showed the Mehrs the new molds and one of three sample bricks that we had “practiced on” before the final molds had been cast by Midwest. We talked of possible implementation plans. President Mehr surprised us as he said, “Let’s start making bricks!” So, with that injunction, we went home with his blessing to move forward – and to do it now!

That night was a bit traumatic for me. I went to bed thinking about the brick and how to get it started it into production. The plan (as given to me) was to begin stamping brick the next day (as Sister Hunt had suggested). I would call several “dignitaries” who had part in the development process to see if they wanted to make some custom bricks to be a part of the first kiln firing. And I was strongly impressed (maybe by Elder Belcher himself) that with proper timing, we could actually have the first bricks come out of the kiln on March 9th on his birthday! How cool! I knew that we would have to begin right away – since the process to create a brick and to get it into the kiln for firing would take 10 days. We had to act right away – meaning the next day.

And so as I awoke that morning of February 28th, March 9th became the target date. I shared the proposed plan with Sister Hunt as she awoke. I was effervescent (bubbling over with excitement) as I shared all of the above with her. She too caught the grandeur of the opportunities – and especially the March 9th birthday scenario. I called Elder Bruce Rieske.

Elder and Sister Rieske – With Sister Lou Hunt check out new molds

He and his wife are the assigned “Coordinators” for the Brick Yard and they manage the facility and the schedule for missionaries to work to create bricks in the yard. (Actually Elder Craig Sanders does the actual scheduling – in cooperation with Elder Rieske.) He counted out the days in his head and agreed that if we got the brick created that specific day, they could go through their process of creation, hacking, trimming, and all else – and could indeed, go into the kiln for firing – and could come out on the 9th! It would have to begin today, however.

Sister Hunt and I got ready and dashed over to the Brick Yard. I was careful to wear my shirt (found at an Arizona thrift store – with embroidered lettering that says, “Build Nauvoo”). We got there a few minutes ahead of Elders and Sisters Ray and Robyn Parker and Fred and Chrstine Graham who had been assigned to brick duty for that day. Sister Hunt quietly made preparations to stamp the first set of four bricks with the new Nauvoo Temple imprint. We took a few photos of the old and new.

And so when the other folks arrived, we were ready for them. Previous missionary brick makers had already created the 4” clay “pugs” that had been “extruded” (that is the milder term) by the pug machine. They were in a tub packed full of the pugs. Sister Hunt set up the hydraulic press and had everything in readiness.

Elders Parker and Graham had heard on the “Nauvoo missionary grapevine” that “a new brick is coming” but in the real secrets of the moment, they like most others – knew little of the real story. They walked into history without knowing that this would happen on this day. We told them that this was the day for the first new brick to be created. This caught them totally by surprise and they were almost breathless. (Glad that they didn’t lose their breath … we needed their help!)

Above: The creators of the Historic first Nauvoo Temple Bricks – Sister Hunt, Elder and Sister Graham, Elder Hunt, Elder and Sister Graham

We gave everyone assignments – or they assumed them – having been to the brick yard before. Elder Graham took on the challenge of working the electric pug machine (a bit different than how Elder Belcher created them back in the day!). Elder Parker became the inspector and keeper of the four tubs of the pug previously created – and kept wet with towels over the pyramids of pugs in each tub. Sisters Graham and Parker went to work to “hack” the bricks created the day before. To “hack” means to turn them around 180 degrees on special wooden racks – so that they would dry properly. Sister Hunt and I worked to create molds to be punched into the back of the new bricks. We wanted to create “March 9th” bricks for our family members.

We felt like real printers – as we pulled type and created our personalized design. (A note: We had previously talked with our son-in-law, Michael, about creating such a design, but this whole process of mold creation moved much faster than we had anticipated – and so it was soon way out of the planned ballpark with him. With President Mehr’s “let’s do it” injunction, we were caught unprepared for Michael’s creation – and we felt bad about that!)

Sisters Parker and Graham finished their hacking task and their trays were placed back in the holding and drying racks to continue through the drying process. They then joined Sister Hunt to begin the stamping process on the new bricks.

Above: Sister Lou Hunt molds the first of the new Nauvoo Temple Bricks

In the Brick Room, we have two hydraulic presses and two sets of the pair of brick molds. And each mold can hold four “pugs” at a time. The operators put the four pugs (each about 4” long and 2” or so in diameter) into the mold. With a linoleum cover, the two metal plates – with the pugs – are put under the jacks. These are then pressed down with great strength and the imprint from the molds are indelibly pressed into the clay pugs – which are squashed down flat into the molds. And since this day was the historic first day of the new brick, there was a desire to create some special bricks to commemorate the special March 9 kiln opening of the very first bricks.

Above: 1st Kiln Run – front and back with date of March 9

Sister Hunt helped the other two sisters create the new bricks. I became the official “stamper” (of personalization) on the back sides of the newly created bricks.

Excitement was high as we cranked out those first bricks. Everyone was excited to be a part of the historic action. It truly was a great moment and we were all in awe of it. We all kind of took a breath and expressed great “AWW” and “WOW” as we saw those first bricks created.

Above: Elder Kevin Hunt holds first (one of four) new Temple Brick created February 28, 2025

Above: First of the new Nauvoo Temple Bricks – after drying but before firing

The new Nauvoo Temple brick was truly magnificent. The Temple – as we had designed it – was embossed in the forefront, and it looked majestic with its surrounding trees, the Nauvoo rising sun, the Nauvoo lettering and the outer frame around everything. This was a total new look since the previous brick had been imprinted “into” the clay. This new brick features raised (embossed) elements and the raised rim protects the Temple and other things – also raised up – down inside of it. The featured Temple was so beautiful. (More Aws and Wows!) It really came through as a special Nauvoo miracle. And we were blessed to be a part of it!

Later Sister Torri Sanders came to help us. She wanted to “trim” shaggy edges off of some personalized bricks that she had created a couple of days before.

Above: Sister Torri Sanders trimming bricks
As the day progressed, we were all thrashed with the pugs and trying to have enough of them to create the many bricks that we wanted to press this day. Typically, workers on previous days create four of these tubs of pugs to be ready for production.

On this day, we had one tub that was the right consistency (the right mix of clay/dirt, sand, and water) that was needed. However, the other three tubs with all of their pugs – were not right. The pugs were too hard to press properly. They ultimately had to be “bagged” or deemed unusable. This was a heartbreak. I had never seen this situation before. The pugged clay was not totally unusable – but it meant that we had to recycle it back into the pug machine – with more water added to it.

Elders Graham and Parker could not get the machine to extrude properly. Elder Graham was frustrated as he had to dismantle the final section of the machine multiple times in order to dig out the dried material. This is a major task. It is challenging enough to do this cleaning at the end of a shift – but to do it three times was particularly discouraging and frustrating. At this rate, we had no way to create the pugs needed for our planned bricks of the day.

At this point, we all realized that we needed help beyond our own. I suggested that we all pause and pray for help. I asked Sister Hunt to offer our special prayer. She was kind of overwhelmed, but she handled the task beautifully as she pleaded with our Father for help. And immediately after the prayer, that help and inspiration came. The Elders dug deeper into the pub machine and found the source of the constipation – some very dry and hard clay material. They got this removed and the pug soon began to extrude out in the giant rolls as the machine was designed to create.

We all let out a sigh of relief. I pointed out to everyone that it was not us who got the machine to work – but that it came specifically after we had prayed for help. We all acknowledged this miracle. And it was Sister Sanders who suggested that the scene suggested the need for another prayer – this one of thanks for the blessing received. Sister Hunt asked her to be voice for the rest of us. A beautiful and thankful prayer was offered. This made for a special miracle moment for all of us on this still historic day.

We were able to create the desired bricks as we had planned. We created among others, the 24 desired by the Church History Department. Then President and Sister Mehr came to make their bricks and by the above miracles, we had the necessary pugs for them. We helped them create their personal molds.

Above: President Daniel and Sister Rebecca Mehr with Sister Lou Hunt creating new Nauvoo Temple bricks

They punched a few bricks before they needed to head off for another meeting. With our slowed process, we had a hard time filling their order. We were short seven bricks. And we still needed to be prepared for a few other folks whom I had arranged with.

The Elders put the bad pugs, sand, and water back into the machine – according the recipe. With a lot of effort, they were able to get a new batch mixing. Mixing by the pug machine takes two hours. The other folks all headed home – leaving Sister Hunt and I with the machine running and waiting without available pugs as we waited for the other design folks to come.

We figured out a way to stamp the backs of some of our earlier bricks that had not been imprinted with the March 9 kiln date. This was yet another miracle that had before seemed impossible as Elder Parker and I explored other possibilities. It was another miracle, but we had the bricks ready for Jordan – and we were able to finish the last seven Mehr bricks.

Above: Elder Kevin Hunt with Jordan Bodily making personal bricks

One brother who came – like 4:00 PM in the day – was Jordan Bodily, the Nauvoo Facilities Management manager. He happily created his bricks under our tutelage. He was excited! The Bodily name seemed familiar to me. I had heard it many times. I asked Sister Hunt the first name of the Elder Bodily she had often talked of from her mission. As she said, “Merrill”, our friend, Jordan came alive. “Wait …! That is the name of my father.” We soon learned that Jordan’s father and Sister Hunt had been great friends as they served in Melbourne, Australia (“a hundred years ago” as I tell Siter Hunt). He got his father on the phone and he and Sister Hunt had great fun reliving those “good ol’ days” of so long ago. And Jordan thoroughly enjoyed the funny stories that Sister Hunt was able to share about his father.

Mission accomplished. With many miracles, we were able to pull it off. With the help and efforts of all of us, we created about 300 of the new Nauvoo Temple bricks! Wow! That is possibly a new daily record!

Now for a bit of background history:

NEW BRICK DESIGN BEGINNINGS
Last spring, President and Sister Mehr (as in Daniel S. Mehr, II and his wife, Sister Rebecca Mehr) came to stand on Holy Ground here in Nauvoo. Sister Hunt and I can’t speak specifically to their arrival but we arrived about six weeks or so after they did.

Many miracles had already happened around that time in Nauvoo. On March 5th, President Russell M. Nelson, prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a joint news conference with leaders of the Community of Christ church. The progeny of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s family had long been the custodians of the Nauvoo residences of Joseph and Emma. Upon Emma’s death, the Joseph Smith Homestead and their Mansion House passed to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ. Later the Reorganized Church was renamed the Community of Christ.

That March 5th day was indeed a historic miracle. The transfer caught the world of both churches off-guard with surprise and elation (for us – sadness for them). The LDS Church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints became the new guardians or care-takers of the sacred properties. The properties all closed at end of day on that March 5th. They reopened under the direction of the LDS Church tours and the new tours began on March 26th – just three weeks later.

This action brought many visitors to Nauvoo in anticipation of seeing the new properties. Many Church members and others had previously been to Nauvoo over the years. And many of them had taken home with them the Nauvoo souvenir brick. In fact, generations of Nauvoo visitors have taken the brick home with them. The brick has become a symbol of the Nauvoo Restoration. It became, for many, a tangible reminder of special times shared with special people as together they learned for themselves that Nauvoo is indeed a holy ground. The brick was not “the golden calf” of Nauvoo but just a quiet reminder of current and former times. The brick was a symbol of the industry and spirit of the Nauvoo Pioneer Saints who came to Nauvoo and ultimately built many of their homes of the native red Nauvoo brick. Visitors to Nauvoo have long been in awe of those beautiful brick homes that somehow have been preserved through 180 years.

THE ARRIVAL OF PRESIDENT AND SISTER MEHR IN NAUVOO
Enter President and Sister Mehr as the new site leaders of the modern Nauvoo. They talked with the Church History Department about their new Nauvoo home. Church historians with whom they met suggested that they could make some administrative changes in Nauvoo as inspired to do so.

One of the early “relics of the past” that President Mehr considered for possible change was the Nauvoo Brick. He questioned the brick and why it is a part of Nauvoo. (And why do we give out braided rope, mini-horseshoes and gingerbread cookies?) He looked at the Nauvoo brick and asked as have many visitors through the years, what are those odd characters on the brick … and what do they say? (The answer: “Maybe only Abraham knows what they say!) With so many new opportunities in Nauvoo,

Above: The “Old” Nauvoo Belcher Brick

President Mehr felt that this might be a time to make a change with the brick design. He did not want to do away with it but felt that it was time to make it “more contemporary” with modern times.
The Mehrs began to think about the brick and discussed possible change plans with the Church History Department. Both had agreed that a change could and would be made but the who and how of those visions just coagulated in the minds of those involved. They all began to contemplate the situation but with no specific plan in mind.

ENTER ELDER AND SISTER KEVIN AND LOU HUNT
Enter (or re-enter) Elder Kevin and Sister Lou Hunt as site-guide missionaries. Both had a “Nauvoo history” so they were excited and pleased to receive a mission call to serve in Nauvoo (actually the Illinois Historic Sites Mission). Elder Hunt had served in Nauvoo 50 years previously on his “young mission” and Sister Hunt’s parents had served in Nauvoo 45 years ago – also as site missionaries – and specifically in the Lucy Mack Smith restored home. They had served in this tiny and historic home for two and a half years.

Above: Elder Kevin and Sister Lou Hunt as Nauvoo “Site Guides” – April 2024

THE MEHRS MEET THE HUNTS
Upon arrival in the mission, President and Sister Mehr – as they do with all newly arriving Nauvoo missionaries – came to visit Elder and Sister Hunt in their historic “Simeon A. Dunn ancestral home”. (The home is the original brick as constructed by Simeon – or his contractor – and has modern amenities – as in the kitchen and bathroom facilities inside.) Anyway, in this home, the Mehrs talked with Elder and Sister Hunt on various topics. Of course the past Nauvoo history of both Elder and Sister Hunt surfaced.

Sister Hunt eagerly told the Mehrs how it was her father, Elder E. H. Belcher, who was the missionary who built the original (modern-day) brick kiln when he was a missionary in Nauvoo 45 years ago. And she proudly showed them many of the Nauvoo bricks that Elder Belcher created. She showed them one of the earliest brick molds that Elder Belcher created. (And looking at the mold, one wonders how that pattern could possibly evolve into a brick.) Of course, Elder and Sister Mehr were totally amazed and in awe. She showed the current souvenir brick – as well as past versions.

Then it all began to come together … The vision of a new brick began to take shape in the mind of President Mehr. (He constantly states that his greatest Nauvoo inspiration comes to him at Joseph Smith’s Red Brick Store … and was it there that his brick inspiration came?) Anyway, the inspiration began to grow within him and it became clear to him. He approached the Church History Department and said, “A daughter of the original Nauvoo brick maker is serving here on a mission with her husband. Wouldn’t it be great if she could help design a new Nauvoo brick?” All parties agreed that this would truly be great. But no one really knew how to proceed to made such a plan happen.

THE INVITATION TO CREAT A NEW BRICK DESIGN
President Mehr received inspiration and acted upon it. And on the day that he decided to take action, he found that Elder and Sister (Kevin and Lou – one of three Nauvoo cousins now serving together) were to be serving that day in Joseph’s Red Brick Store. Wow! He and Sister Mehr came and made a surprise visit to Elder and Sister Hunt as they served.
Hold that thought … Let’s share some background information:

BACKGROUND OF NAUVOO BRICK MAKING
As already hinted, the “Nauvoo Brick” has become almost world-famous. Chances are, you might have seen this brick in England, throughout the United States – and possibly in other countries. The small brick – with the name of Nauvoo and some curious ancient Egyptian characters – has become a symbol of the modern Nauvoo as well as the Nauvoo of yesteryear. And for 45 years, visitors to Historic Nauvoo have made great efforts to obtain one of the coveted bricks.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois from 1839 through their exodus to Salt Lake City in 1846. The early Saints constructed many homes of bricks, wood, limestone, or other materials. Many of those original brick homes have been preserved so that even today, visitors can view and tour these homes. In addition, many other of the brick homes have been restored or reconstructed in modern times and visitors to historic Nauvoo can see the workmanship of those early Pioneers, as well as catch a glimpse of the lifestyle lived by these pioneers through the houses that they constructed.

Above: Restored Brigham Young Home in Nauvoo

During the seven years the Church members were in Nauvoo, the “flats” (as the flat land below the Temple hill and along the Mississippi River was called) were soon covered with some 2600 homes – with an estimated 300 to 500 timber frame homes, and 300 to 350 brick houses. Most of the homes of old Nauvoo were made of logs and timber. Nauvoo would grow to over 12,000 people at its height in 1845, second in size only to Chicago in 1840s Illinois.

During the Nauvoo era, there were seven brick-making operations. Brick makers were kept busy making the bricks for the booming housing construction efforts.

Isaac Hill “I Hill” imprinted brick in Old Nauvoo

ISAAC HILL – A PIONEER BRICK MAKER IN NAUVOO:
Isaac Hill was one of those seven Nauvoo brick makers. Isaac was credited with recognizing Nauvoo “rock” or sand as clay, and he knew that bricks could be made from it. He set up a brickyard on Kimball Street in Old Nauvoo.

[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31961346/isaac-john-hill] In his brickmaking, Isaac imprinted one brick in each 100 new bricks with his now famous signature “I Hill” imprint.

Author’s Note: As a young missionary, I spent the last six months of my Church mission in Nauvoo giving tours at the visitors’ center and many restored homes and shops. During that time, restoration was undertaken at the former Raymond Clark store (now the Nauvoo FamilySearch Center – located across the street north of the restored Nauvoo Temple). During that restoration, many Isaac Hill bricks were removed from a much-deteriorated stairwell. It was a great blessing and opportunity to find and keep four of the original bricks with the “I Hill” imprint.

The Raymond Clark Store is now the FamilySearch Center in Nauvoo
Left: The Clark Store stairs before/during restoration (Photo 1975 by Kevin V. Hunt)

Above: The Raymond Clark Store – now the FamilySearch Center across the street from the restored Nauvoo Temple

ENTER ELDER E.H. BELCHER
In 1980, a modern Church missionary, Elder Everett H. Belcher, of Midvale, Utah (and father-in-law to the author of this article), was serving a Church mission with his wife, Sister Verna Belcher, in Nauvoo. They were assigned to serve full-time in the Lucy Mack Smith home. (Lucy was the mother of the Prophet, Joseph Smith.)

For a history of Elder Belcher and the development of the Nauvoo Brick, I now include pages of my own book entitled, “Nauvoo Homes, Brick Making and the Nauvoo Legacy of Elder E.H. Belcher”

The “Nauvoo Brick” shown on the back cover of a past “Ensign” Magazine

\Many years after his mission, Elder Belcher again set up his brick-making operation – this time in the “This is the Place Heritage Park” in Salt Lake City, Utah. In this setting, “H” Belcher again told the story of Nauvoo brickmaking as he continued to create his famous bricks for visitors at the Park.

Still today the Nauvoo brick remains a “must have” for all Nauvoo visitors. Its popularity has remained high in the 40 plus years since its creation. The bricks are now created by missionaries who serve in Nauvoo.

THE BELCHER NAUVOO BRICKYARD IN OLD NAUVOO
Sadly, the Belcher brickyard has now been closed to visitors, but the legacy lives on through the bricks that are still created there by missionaries and which can still be found everywhere.

It is an ongoing challenge to maintain an inventory to keep up with the demand. But the missionaries keep making them. The bricks can often be obtained at the Nauvoo Visitors’ Center (as supplies and time make them available.) Those lucky enough to obtain a Nauvoo brick can “take a part of Nauvoo back home” with them.

A modern missionary who serves in the “Family Living Center” in Nauvoo today, says that people continue to be intrigued with the bricks. He said that the most often asked question from visitors, is “What do the curious figures on the bricks mean?” Jerrie Belcher Lee states that her father created the figures copied from some shown in the “Facsimile 2 in the modern Book of Abraham in the “Pearl of Great Price” (an additional book of modern scripture of the Church). While the interpretation or translation of each individual symbol is not known, we can know their source and compare them to the brick to see which are included on the brick.

On one of our tours, we met a Newman family from Kaysville, Utah. Early in the conversation, the lady said that she came to Nauvoo in 1980. She talked of going to the Belcher Brickyard. She clearly remembered that he gave her family a larger brick – the one with the Egyptian Hieroglyphics and also a small brick for each member of the family. She still [2024] has the two bricks that she got. This was very cool information. We did not know that Elder Belcher was giving out both bricks simultaneously.

Brick Making display at the Nauvoo Family Living Center in Nauvoo
Now the small Nauvoo bricks can be found almost world-wide. They have become the symbol of modern Nauvoo – uniquely linking the modern world to the Pioneer Nauvoo era. Jenae Hunt Merrill, a granddaughter of Elder and Sister Belcher, served a Church mission in England twenty-plus years ago and was surprised and pleased to see her grandpa’s Nauvoo brick on the mantle of a family they were visiting.

SO, ON TO MODERN TIMES
The legacy of the Nauvoo brick lives on. Thanks to Isaac Hill, and all of the Nauvoo brick-makers, and thanks to the Belchers for making that brick legacy live again for all who now visit Nauvoo. And thanks to the inspiration of President Mehr for his vision for the continuation and future of the Nauvoo Brick.

BACK TO THE INVITATION TO CREAT A NEW BRICK DESIGN
My journal records the visit of President and Sister Mehr with us at Joseph’s Red Brick Store.

MAY 13TH 2024 – MONDAY
“Today was a great day. We were at Red Brick with the Turners. They are good folks.

… We had a surprise visit from Mission Pres. Mehr and his wife. I think that they came just to see Lou. She was very surprised when the President said that he had been in a meeting wherein the Nauvoo Brick image was discussed. He said “they” (upper folks above him) want to create a redesign of the Brick – for use as a marketing tool (or whatever) through the Nauvoo project. This blew us away. He did not have any ideas of what a new design should be but told Lou that she would figure it out. He told the “upper folks” that we have here in Nauvoo, the daughter of the original Nauvoo brickmaker … “So, why not use her …” This is so fabulous. Should be really fun!”

The Church History Department suggested some options for creation of the brick. Someone suggested that a contest for missionaries be held to come up with possible designs. Sister Mehr, however, felt strongly that Sister Hunt should be involved in the design so that the Belcher family legacy could be carried on from father down to daughter.

In contemplating the above scenario, I think of Esther in the Old Testament. She was brought to the king’s court. Her uncle Mordecai pled with her to ask for help from the king. He said, “… Who knoweth whether thou are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” I believe that the Lord put Sister Hunt here in Nauvoo for just “for such a time as this”. Pretty amazing and wonderful!

Elder Mitchell Atkinson, the zone leader for the Hyrum Zone of senior Nauvoo missionaries (and the zone leader for Elder and Sister Hunt) has commented about the beautiful scenario surrounding the involvement of Elder and Sister Hunt in the development of the new brick. He said, “It was just so Christlike for President Mehr to involve you guys in the development of the new brick. It is exactly what Christ would have done if He were here. He too, would have given you the opportunity to carry on the family legacy through the new design.” Beautifully said!
Sister Hunt recalls of that special day: “I was surprised when Pres. Mehr first started talking about a new brick. I was surprised that the Church wanted to create something new … something more modern … I immediately began to think of possible designs and how I could do it. I tried to think of possibilities. I was thinking about my dad’s brick … would people be excited about a new brick or did they like the original Nauvoo Brick? The Mehrs told me that they would like a few designs made – rather quickly – so that I would have an opportunity for me to carry on the legacy of my dad. I was told that if I got onto the design quickly we would have a chance to get it accepted – before the Church created its own design.”

Says Sister Hunt: “I had never designed anything like this and I wondered if I might be capable of doing it. I was more than a little overwhelmed with the idea of this project because of my lack of experience and design skills. And actually, a part of me was sad about my dad’s brick being replaced. I was torn with the idea of coming up with a design to replace what had been for the past 45 years.”

“We saw Pres. and Sister Mehr later. I approached them and I got emotional and started to cry. I said, “I feel really honored and privileged that you would give me this opportunity. I am sorry that I may not have come across excited when you first talked to me. I was just so surprised. You caught be totally off guard.” I told them that I would do my best – to try to come up with something though I didn’t have any experience in this type of thing. He suggested that we could get the help of other family members to help make the brick happen. He again emphasized that the sooner a design was created, the better – so that we could present the designs to the Church …”

“We went home and I began to see what I could do. I made it a matter of prayer. I felt strongly that the Nauvoo Temple needed to be the of the new design. And then I thought of a Temple sketch that my son-in-law, Paul Merrill, had drawn when he and his family and Kevin and I were here in Nauvoo last summer. I contacted our daughter Jenae, I said, “Hey, I remember Paul sketching a picture of the Nauvoo Temple with the Joseph and Hyrum statues. Does he still have that drawing?” It turned out that he did not draw the statues but he did draw the Temple. Jenae sent this cool drawing to me.

“The Nauvoo Temple” – Drawn by Paul Merrill

Sister Hunt continues: “I made some very rough drawings … I drew some things. I had Kevin shrink down some of my sketches – of the Temple and the Joseph Hyrum statues – so that I could get it down to the size of the brick. I tried to maneuver the picture cut-outs to fit the brick size.

Sister Hunt had a vision of the Temple that she wanted to portray on the new brick design. Her art was quite rudimentay but the vision was enough to jar the thinking of others. On that day, Sister Hunt copied the following figures and sent them on to her daughter, Kaylea and JD, her husband. She asked them for their expertise and help.

She told Kaylea: “I also knew that the local “Fudge Factory” features a “Nauvoo Fudge Brick”. We (reluctantly) made a trip to the store to check it out – and of course came out with a fist full of fudge – including the fudge brick.

I liked the Nauvoo houses shown on the brick. I thought of this as a possible brick design for us.” I tried to make a drawing like I saw on the fudge brick. Nothing seemed to come out as I had hoped that they would. I finally said, “Okay, this is not working … “ I decided that I needed help from my children. I thought of Kaylea and JD because I knew that they are really into computer stuff.”
I called Kaylea and JD Stoddard, our daughter and son-in-law. I told them of our opportunity given us by the Mission President to design a new brick. They were as excited as we were. I sent this photo on to Kaylea and JD:

This is how Kaylea and JD responded:

Sister Hunt responded back – showing her first brick inspiration.

Sister Hunt and I spent an hour or two (after our tours) taking a plethora of photos of the Temple. It was a fun evening.

Kaylea and JD Stoddard went to work that day and used the many photos that we had sent to them. They created one with the Prophet Joseph combined with the angel. They made some with the Temple stars. They created some with just the Temple. Through the phone calls of the day Sister Hunt, Kaylea, and JD continued to exchange ideas. And very quickly, they came up with many possibilities.

Here are the designs that they created for us. We liked them all.

And my own journal records the events of the day …

MAY 16TH – THURSDAY
Today was a glorious day. It was our preparation day.
“We ended up talking on the phone with Kaylea for a long day – and the combined calls actually went to midnight. Lou told Kaylea about the opportunity that Pres. Mehr is giving her to create/design a “new Nauvoo brick”. Kaylea and JD got onto this and they helped Lou all of the rest of the day and together they all created six or seven different possible designs. (and Lou tried at home to make a design – using cut-up paper. This didn’t work out so well for her. I felt bad for her – as she really wanted to design it all herself.) But, Kaylea and JD were amazing.”
I also wrote that day:

“Lou and I then – at Kaylea and JD’s direction – went to the temple to take photos at various angles. They wanted these for the brick design project that they are working on. In the end, the photos would not work for them – since they just needed silhouette images. Lou and I had a grand time there. We took about 40 or more photos each. We both got some really great shots.

The sunset happened as we were there, and this greatly enhanced the photos. We took many photos – including some of Joseph and Hyrum on their horses – in the sunset. These were so gorgeous. We got some really amazing photos and they were wonderful.”
At 10:52 Pm, Lou sent a photo to Kaylea with some of her ideas:

Kaylea wrote: “Those photos are great. Any chance that you can call your mission president to see what kind of computer file format the Church will need to create the brick design?”

My journal continues:

MAY 18TH – SATURDAY
… “Our President Mehr wants to come next week to view brick design possibilities – and we want to show him the [brick making] history. I will have to get right on this.”

MAY 28TH – TUESDAY
“Yesterday we sent to President Mehr and to his wife, the brick designs that Lou (with help from Kaylea and JD) have been creating. He will now pass these “up he chain” – so we will look forward to watching the process with these – to see what happens. Folks above him are wanting to create a “new” Nauvoo brick.”

JULY 7TH – SUNDAY

“Kaylea and JD have been working with Lou to create some more possible brick designs. …

Ultimately, JD and Kaylea thought that it would be great to create some wood mock-ups of the brick designs so that these could be presented to the Church History Department personnel to help facilitate their design choice. JD created these wood blocks on his 3-D digital printer. The printing is like burning into the wood and it looks really cool. And coincidentally, their two children soon came to Nauvoo as a part of their Texas stake’s youth conference. They were able to bring the wood blocks to us. They were beautiful and amazing. Kaylea and JD kept a set of their own and they gave us three sets – one which we kept, one for the Mehrs to keep and one so be sent to the Church History Department. It will be great fun to have a set of these for us to keep.

Above: President Daniel and Sister Rebecca Mehr with brick sample blocks presented by Sister Lou and Elder Kevin Hunt

Sister Mehr immediately was drawn to the design with just the Temple, the sun and a couple of trees and the word Nauvoo. We kind of liked that design also.

THE WAITING GAME
After we presented the wood blocks to the Mehrs, we heard nothing from anyone about progress. A few times, President Mehr cornered us and said that he hadn’t hear from the Church History Department. Things were kind of up in the air – seemingly with no one knowing what the next step would be or who would do it. We didn’t know what was happening. President Mehr said a few times, “We have got to get this going so that it will be done before you leave.” We agreed and hoped that it would get moving. It didn’t seem to be going very fast and we didn’t know what was causing the bottle-neck.

SHIFTING INTO HIGH GEAR
Time passed quickly and soon it was December and all was still at a stale-mate. Then on Wednesday, December 18th, the mission activities committee sponsored a doughnut making and eating activity over at the “break room” at Facilities Maintenance. The doughnuts were amazing!
“As the event was winding down, Lou and I were surprised when Pres. Mehr said that he wanted to talk to Lou and me. He had “bricks” on his mind. He is anxious to move forward his desire (and that of the Church History Department) to create a new design. He kind of asked for our help – not knowing how to get it off the ground – and pretty much gave us a “green light” to take initiative to get the brick plan moving. This was great. We will see what we can do.”

Back at home, we contacted our son Keith, who is a product design engineer. He is used to creating such things as the mold we would need to press bricks.

Again from my journal:

DECEMBER 19TH – THURSDAY
“I worked to try to get some brick design movement.
“Pres. Mehr gave us the name of a guy, Curtis Ashton, from the Church History Department whom we should deal with. I tried to call him and left a message.

“Curtis did later return my call. He said that the Temple design selected by the Mehr – was the one that the Church History Department also liked. He noted that “this design has been approved by all church channels – so it ready to manufacture”. Like Pres. Mehr, he is baffled as to how to go aboout getting a mold. But, exciting that it is cleared to go on to the next step.

“I called Kendall Gallaher at Nauvoo Facilities Management and he is the guy who ordered the current mold – several years ago. He said that he did not remember the name of the company but that he could go back through his e-mail messages to see who it was. He did say that the mold was manufactured by a place in Quincy.

“We called Kaylea and JD and told them the news of the selection of the Church History Department as well as our mission leadership – of one specific design for the brick redo. I told them that it is the simple one with the Nauvoo Temple. They were really excited. They are willing and anxious to help us move forward. They emphasized the need to find the company who created the original moulds – and we said that we would work at it. We all agreed that we needed to get additional help on the project.

Kaylea and JD had done a great job but now it was time to get more detailed plans and drawings for the brick. We have a son, Keith, who is a product design engineer. We knew that he would have the expertise to get the right drawings that might be needed by the manufacturing company to create the desired molds.

I texted Keith. He began trying to locate a manufacturer for a new brick mold. And I did the same.

DECEMBER 18TH – THURSDAY
“I worked to try to get some brick design movement. I texted Keith. He has been trying to locate a manufacturer for a new brick mold. I called Kendall at FM and he is the guy who ordered the current mold – several years ago. He said that the mold was manufactured by a place in Quincy. Pres. Mehr gave us the name of a guy, Curtis Ashton, from the Church History Department whom we should deal with. I tried to call him and left a message.

”Curtis did later return my call. He said that the design selected has been approved by all church channels – so it ready to manufacture. Like Pres. Mehr, he is baffled as to how to go aboout getting a mold. But, exciting that it is cleared to go on to the next step.

DECEMBER 20TH – FRIDAY
“I have been working to sleuth out where the Nauvoo brick molds were created. Yesterday, I talked to Kendall Gallaher of FM. He said that he would try to locate the name of the company who made the molds – but that he would have to spend time researching back e-mail records.
“Last night I Googled and did some research. I learned that the type of project and came up with the process of “metal injection moulding” or “press moulds”. I then found five or six companies in Quincy that might do that sort of mould creation – and listed their companies and phone numbers on one of my 3×5” cards. Lou and I prayed last night for guidance and direction.

“This morning, I began to call the companies on my list. I called one number and got a message machine. Then I went back to the top of the list and called the first company. I explained the process and asked them if they may have created the brick moulds for Nauvoo. I was surprised and delighted when they said that they had, indeed, created the moulds. This was so exciting … and truly a miracle. We have felt the Lord’s guidance as we have pursued the new management of this process and brick development. We are grateful that we can be an instrument in the Lord’s hand in making this happen. Wonderful indeed!

“I talked to a Corey Miller. He said that he would talk to Jeff – the President/owner and the shop foreman, Greg, and will get back to me. I asked if I could come down there this Monday. Corey said that he would check to see if this might be possible. He said that he would call me back later today.

”Later Corey told us about that first call to him. Here is a guy who is likely not used to talking of miracles, but he said that it was a “miracle” that I had got him on the phone. He said that he usually does not answer the phone but he did so on just this one day as he filled in for a few minutes for the secretary who usually answers the phone. And he said that it was amazing because he was likely the only person who would have known what we were requesting in our phone call.

“I texted this info to Keith – who has been helping find a possible company to create the molds. He said that he also had Googled and had settled on this same company. I wrote him back and said that “We’n’s” (he and us) have been “guided” in our process. I thanked him for all of his help thus far. I asked him what CAD (computer aided design) program he would recommend for the design creation.

“I received a call back from Midwest Patterns in Quincy. Corey Miller sent me a link on which to post our brick making photos. I set a meeting date with him for this Monday, December 23rd – at 11:00 AM. This was exciting that they will make time for us then. Corey also sent me information about the type of file to be submitted. Lou and I sent him some photos of our brick making process.

“We called Kaylea and JD and JD helped to perfect the design. He tweaked it and made some changes. The picture looks great. Loui and I are excited about this. J.D. and Keith will now work together to get the file in the proper format for Midwest. We appreciate their help.
“I called Elder Rieske – since he is the Brickyard site coordinator. He is going to make me a few pugs to take with us on Monday. He also said that I can take one of the two brick moulds from the inventory. This is good. He said that there is to be no brick making next week anyway.
“So, we made some major progress on the project today. Very cool!”
The next day, I recorded: We also talked with JD about the brick design. He and Keith are working together to make the design happen. The files are not transferring from one person and system to another so they are having challenges trying to accomplish the task.”

A SUMMARY OF PROGRESS OF THE PAST WEEK
President and Sister Mehr were at this time in Utah dealing with a family emergency. On December 26th, I wrote him a summary of what we were able to accomplish over the past week:

Brick Redesign Progress E-mail sent to Pres. Mehr 12/26/24
CC sent to Curtis Ashton at the Church History Department
BCC to Kevin and Lou Hunt

Greetings, President and Sister Mehr! We miss you!

“We thought that you might like a progress report on the new bricks (following our meeting at the donut party.

“Upon your direction, we contacted Curtis Ashton at the Church History Department. He too, liked the simple brick design with the Nauvoo Temple. I asked him if there are further steps that need to be taken to get the brick approved in Salt Lake. He confirmed that it is all approved at the Church History Department (and beyond) and that no further authorization is needed.

“From research on the Nauvoo bricks, Sister Hunt and I came in contact with Brother Kendall Gallaher in the Facilities Maintenance Department. Kendall has had oversight responsibility for the brickyard for many years. We told him about the pending new brick design and plan. He had not heard of the pending change.so I told him about the plan and its approval from the Church History Department. (This had been his concern when I told him of the plan.

“I asked Kendall where the current mold had been created. He said that it was created in 2016 or 2017 and that he had worked with a company in Quincy, Illinois to create the two sets of molds. He did not know the name of the manufacturing place but that he would dig through his E-mail archives to find it.

“Meanwhile, I Googled “metal mold casting” and other similar subjects in Quincy. I came up with a possible list of six or so places. I called one number and got a message service. They never called back. I went to the first name on my list and called them. I got a Corey Miller on the phone. He later said it was very “coincidental” that I got him on the phone – since he was doing a quirk desk sit for someone who was not at her desk. He noted that if I had got the secretary, she would have not known anything about us and how to help us.

“Anyway, when I explained the brick molds, he remembered that his company had indeed created the molds. Wow!

“With your direction, Sister Hunt and I contacted three of our children who had helped us with the initial brick designs. Our daughter, Kaylea and husband, JD Stoddard, worked to tweak the final design. We then sent the file to our son Keith, who is a product design engineer. He then began intense work on the design to get it in the format that Corey said his company would need. He spent about 20 hours on the project and came up with the following final design (if you approve).

“Sister Hunt and I had an appointment Monday December 23RD (our P-day) with Corey and other members of the team at Midwest Patterns in Quincy.

“We had previously sent them Keith’s final design documents via computer. We took them some of our current bricks along with one of the two molds from the brick yard. We had a great conversation. They are all in for creating the new design. We determined that we will not need the “grid” section of the current molds to be remade. They can be used with the new molds. So, we will need only the metal part that has the actual molds (a cost savings in them)

“From the discussion, it was determined that Keith and Corey (the engineers) should connect to work out final design details in the drawings – to be more compatible with the capabilities and specifications of the Midwest manufacturing systems. Keith and Corey did connect. The Midwest IT guy is off work until January 6th but in the meantime, Keith will continue to work to tweak his tech plans.

“Corey promised to get us an estimate of Midwest costs. This should happen soon (but likely not until after the return of the other guy on January 6th).

”The production techs in the room estimated approximately two months for processing time to create the new molds.

Anything we have missed?

“So, I think that with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost – and several miracles already, we have made significant progress. It is very exciting to be a part of this new design process.”

Elder and Sister Kevin Hunt

This is what Pres. Mehr wrote back:
Wow, what a great report. Thank you for the detail. I appreciate all the efforts that you’re making. I like the mold that you are proposing. Let’s go forward and get the cost and then we can move forward from there. If they accept credit cards that will make it easy for me because I can just use my Mission credit card to pay for it or probably most likely, we will have FM pay for it. However, if they cannot accept that then we will have to arrange a check from headquarters to pay for everything. Just let me know.”

Curtis Ashton, of the Church History Department, wrote this:
Curtis Ashton Thurs. Dec. 26, 2:51 PM

to Daniel, Rebecca, me

Elder Hunt,
Wow! I agree, lots of miracles happening. The new design looks beautiful and uplifting with nice clean lines. Thanks for taking this on. And thanks too to your family for their amazing contributions!
Curtis

DISCUSSION OF BRICK SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS
We continued in frequent communication with Kaylea, JD, and Keith relative to the specifications for the brick. Sister Mehr wrote and suggested that the file could be saved as a PDF file.

JD asked Keith about the clouds and the sun – wondering if it would be too detailed for clay. Then the question of engraved or embossed. JD felt that it would be better to have the design items to be embossed (above the surface). Keith agreed with this assessment.

Keith responded to JD about the file type. The SVC file that JD had sent to Keith was not opening so Keith wanted the original design file time (before SVC conversion). JD noted that the designs were created in Photoshop – so a .PSD file. Keith then said that he was able to convert the file to a clear SVG with an online CAD program that he had. He said this was a .PNG file so it still had good resolution. He said, however, that there so many curves that it was bogging down the program. He felt that some of the details would definitely be too small for the mold. Lou suggested that perhaps the sunshine rays could be triangle shaped instead of lines – and that perhaps the trees could be one shape instead of leaf detail. Keith then used a .DFX file and thought that this worked a bit better.

On December 23rd, Keith wrote back to the rest of us: “Here’s what I came up with after some back and forth with Mom and Dad. I had to simplify some of the features like we talked about … and I embellished others. The sun rays are a subtle throwback to the sunstones.”
And on that date, he sent to us the first draft of what the real brick might look like. It was magnificent:

He also sent a Sunstone photo – which he was trying to incorporate into the design. He said “There is still time to add the face!”

JD responded: “That looks great, Keith! I figured the other stuff was too detailed. It was intended as a concept. I like that we can see a visualized brick.”

Keith: “Thanks! Hya, it’s always nice to be able to render it. Really brings it to life.”

Kaylea: “No Way ?!?! That looks awesome. The face on the sun would be cool. … LOL

Lou: “I like the way it is! It is so cool!”

JD: “And I like that the trees have depth!”

Lou: “Keith stayed up all night working on it. He said he didn’t even feel tired. I hope he makes it through the day.”

Sister Hunt and I made a trip to Quincy and Corey Miller took us on a tour of the Midwest manufacturing plant. Wow! We met with three guys who talked to us about making the mold They put the new design up on a big screen to figure out what they needed to do to make it work.
JD: “That’s cool! It’s coming to life!!”

Above: Kevin Hunt with Corey Miller of Midwest Patterns

Lou: “Yes, it is, so awesome! Corey got Keith’s design this morning and it came across just great.”

Above: Midwest Patterns personnel

Lou: “They are going to make a drawing and have us look at it to see if we are okay with it. They are not going to be able to do all the intricate details in the windows and a few other places. But they said that they would do their best.”

Keith: “When I finished it, it was so close to the time that I would be going in to work that I just got ready and went straight to work.
Keith: “If they tell me the finest detail size they can make, I may be able to enlarge some of the smaller features. … It’s good I left for work when I did or I probably would have started adding door knobs and wall hangings!”

Kaylea: “Ba ha ha!”

Keith: “BTW this isn’t my first rodeo with brick design. If I remember correctly, Grandpa Belcher had me draw the “Gold Rush” brick when Rusty and I were up [at “This is the Place” Monument] working with him [a full summer and when I was about age 10]. I remember that he was giving out the Nauvoo brick there and many other designs.”
Keith added: “Don’t you need to get the final design approved by the mission president before they start on the mold?”

Kevin: “He told us the design to use and it really has not changed. He will love it.”

JANUARY 9TH 2025 – THURSDAY
“I was very pleased to receive an email message from Corey – of Midwest Patterns. Keith finished the design and he and Corey had conversation. Corey wrote me this morning and said that the design is ready to go. He will proceed to get the design through their system. He will send me a quote for the cost and do a mock-up of the final for our approval. This is so exciting! I sent back a message approving the design and gave the go-ahead to proceed. I sent the final design to Pres. and Sister Mehr and to Curtis Ashton (at the Church history department), to Keith, Kaylea and JD, and to Lou. Lou and I are getting jazzed about this.

“President Mehr wrote back: “Outstanding” and said to proceed. Curtis wrote back agreeing with prior comments.”

On January 11th, we shared the new brick design with our children and their families. Son-in-Law, Michael Bowles, raised some concerns. He was concerned that the design “sticks up” rather than “digging down”. This generated some discussion with Keith. We decided that we need to do a 3D print and try it on the bricks – to make sure that all of the lines will survive the molding and burning process.

Later we talked for an hour with Keith. We discussed options with the Nauvoo brick.

JANUARY 13TH – MONDAY
“Lou and I called Corey at Midwestern Patterns. We talked of concerns that Michael Bowles had about the brick mold. We had a good conversation. He satisfied my concerns. Lou still has question marks. Corey said that they could create a “positive” with which we can test some bricks to see if the pattern works – before they cut the official mold. He said that he would be willing to come to Nauvoo to assist us and make calculations. I have trust in him and his company.”

PROJECT DESIGN ENGINEER KEITH WRITE ABOUT HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE PROJECT

Above: Keith Hunt – Produce Design Engineer

“I first heard about the Nauvoo souvenir brick redesign when my parents called, asking for some 3D design help to prepare it for the mold maker. I thought it was very cool that they were serving there at the time the decision was made to redesign it and that they were asked to be involved. I was also excited that I could contribute and carry on the family legacy started by Grandpa Belcher.

“They began by working with Kaylea and JD to send me the final 2D design that had been chosen. My first task was to convert the image file into a format that could be opened in my 3D CAD software. The next step was to determine which parts of the design should be raised from the main surface and which should be engraved to create a three-dimensional effect. I initially thought this would be a simple process—just selecting different shapes and assigning a height or depth to each one. However, it quickly turned into a more complex project.
The original design contained a lot of fine details that were too small to be machined into a mold. At first, I tried to preserve the original shapes as much as possible while simplifying them slightly. However, as I progressed, it became clear that it would be more practical to redraw certain elements from scratch—particularly the trees, clouds, and sun. I discussed this with my parents, and they gave me the artistic freedom to make the necessary adjustments. I also suggested replacing the arc representing the hill with something more organic. With their approval, I got back to work.

“I thought it would be neat to give the design more depth so that the temple and other features would truly look three-dimensional. I may have gotten a little carried away with the details—my hyperfocus and perfectionist tendencies definitely kicked in! I placed the trees at varying depths and added layers to the temple to enhance its realism. I also angled the surfaces on the spire to give it a more geometric look.

“I spent an entire weekend refining the design, knowing my parents had a meeting with the mold maker on Monday. Determined to finish in time, I worked through the night on Sunday and went straight to work Monday morning without sleep. The meeting went well, and the mold maker provided some feedback, but much of it got lost in translation. To ensure clarity, I scheduled a video call with him so he could give me direct input on the feasibility of the design.

“During our conversation, he provided some valuable insights. I realized that I had made the mistake of starting the design at the scale it had imported from the 2D file, which wasn’t true to size. Because of this, I didn’t fully grasp the actual dimensions of the features until I scaled the brick after completing the design. As a result, some fine details I had added needed to be adjusted.

“At the mold maker’s request, I enlarged certain temple features and increased their depth so they would be more visible. I had jokingly suggested to my parents that we replace the sun with the original sunstone design from the temple, complete with a fully detailed face! However, as I examined pictures of the sunstone, I noticed that its rays could potentially be incorporated into the design. The mold maker advised me to reduce the number of rays to ensure the mold could be produced successfully, but I was happy that I could still maintain the same aesthetic.

“After making these adjustments, I spent another couple of days refining the design before sending it back to the mold maker. He reviewed it and deemed it ready to move on to the quoting phase. To give my parents a better visual, I created a realistic rendering of the brick in a clay color and sent it to them. They were thrilled with how it turned out.
Wanting to bring the design to life even more, I decided to 3D print the face of the brick at work while they waited for the mold process. My coworker was kind enough to print it for me.

“The filament color we had on hand was ivory, which felt fitting for the temple. My parents kept me updated with pictures of the trial mold runs, and it was exciting to see the design materialize. Knowing I had played a part in this project was incredibly rewarding. There’s something special about seeing an idea that once existed only in your mind and on a computer screen turn into a tangible object.

“As a fun personal touch, I worked a subtle Easter egg into the design—something that wouldn’t detract from the overall look. In the renderings, you may be able to see that the time on the clock is set to 10:26, representing my October 26th birthday! Unfortunately, the clock hands ended up being too small to be visible on the clay brick itself, but it was still a fun detail to include.

“Overall I spent around 40 hours total on the project. Ultimately, I was happy to help and grateful to be involved. It was humbling to think that this new brick could have a decades-long run like its predecessor, making its way into homes and onto mantles all over the world. The experience also brought back fond memories of working with Grandpa Belcher at the brickyard at This Is the Place monument in Utah with my brother Rusty one summer. I thought of Grandpa often as I worked on the design. During that boyhood trip, I sometimes struggled to meet his high standards, but as I looked at the final product I had a feeling he would have been pleased.

JANUARY 15TH – WEDNESDAY
“President Mehr said that the price bid for the brick mold creation was approved by him and Curtis Ashton at the Church History Department. He needs to only get it cleared by Jordan Bodily of Facilities Management. So, we are making progress. President Mehr did not seem shocked by the cost. So, this was good.”

JANUARY 21ST – TUESDAY
“President Mehr pulled Lou and I upfront to him after the meeting. He gave us the news that all approvals have been given for the new brick. He instructed us to go to Jordan Bodily in FM administration to obtain the needed check to get the mold going. This is so exciting! We are very happy and pleased. He also said that we can tell Lou’s siblings about the new brick and that we can plan an “unveiling” of the new one as we wish. Wow!”

JANUARY 22ND – WEDNESDAY
“I called Kaylea and she is going to set up a Zoom conference call for tomorrow night. Lou wants to tell all of her siblings about the new brick development. We set a time for 8:00 PM our time tomorrow night (7:00 PM for the folks in Utah and Idaho).. Keith said that he would like to be a part of the call, also.”

“After our brick work, we went over to the FM office again. We found Jordan and Jessie holed up in his office. They were on the phone with Church History Finance Department. I guess the process for writing checks has recently changed and they are working to figure out the new system. We went home – with a promise from them that they will call us once the check is cut.”

“We sat around a while awaiting the check. We were planning to be in Quincy at 2:30 PM. At 2:25 Pm, we had not received a check. I called Corey Miller saying we still were hoping for a check today and he said that he would be there until 4:00 PM. At 2:45 PM, I called FM. They said that they had tried to call me but got no answer – but that the check was ready. We hurried over to get it.”

“We then hit the highway and headed to Quincy. We arrived about 3:40 PM. WE met with Corey Miller and gave him the check. We had a good conversation. He is a good guy. So, now, the brick mold is “officially in production”. Wow! So exciting!”

JANUARY 23RD – THURSDAY
“This evening we had a fun Zoom call. We set up the call to connect with all of Lou’s siblings relative to the new brick design. We had previously sent out an invitation to a Zoom call – coming from Kaylea. Most of our kids (but not Jackie, Rusty and K.C.) were also on the call. Our kids got a big kick out of hearing the old farts trying to figure out how to get on a Zoom call. Emylee could not figure out the Zoom mechanics so Lou just told her earlier than the rest of the call. Kay also could not get into the call. So, Lou was on one phone with her – while the rest of the folks were on the main call. Dave was challenged by the whole affair but Brad walked him through how to get onto Zoom.”

“Lou told her siblings of the new brick plan. Jerrie wanted to know if we were going to vote on it. Dave wondered how much it is all going to cost the family. Vern and Celia thought the plan was wonderful.”

KAYLEA AND JD STODDARD TALK OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK DESIGN

KAYLEA AND JD STODDARD AT WORK ON COMPUTER DESIGN FOR THE NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK

“On May 16, 2024 we received a phone call from Kaylea’s parents. They told us that their mission president was looking to design a new brick and asked my Mom to be the one to design it and carry on the tradition of her father, who designed the first Nauvoo brick. We were so surprised! It was a little sad to think Grandpa Belcher’s creation would be replaced. But, it was cool to imagine being part of a new design. If Elder and Sister Hunt weren’t serving a mission in Nauvoo at this exact time, they wouldn’t have asked any family member to be part of the new design. The church would have just replaced the brick and we would have just found out randomly and probably felt crushed that Grandpa’s legacy was gone. So, we felt extremely blessed that Kaylea’s parents were there serving in Nauvoo and that the mission president thought to involve them in the new design process.

“During the initial call with Kaylea’s parents we got right to work. Mom showed us what she was trying to do on her own and we had a good hard laugh. It looked like the work of a kindergartner. We told her we could definitely help it look better than what she was trying to do. JD got on the computer and started making a blank canvas the size of the current brick. Mom gave us her ideas for some designs. We got on a video call and Mom and Dad told us how they wanted it to look. They texted us pictures they had taken of the Temple and other buildings and statues around Nauvoo to use in Photoshop. JD played around with all the images with Kaylea’s input. Mom and Dad remained on the video call and also gave input. That night we all helped put together 9 different brick samples.

“We worked together on several video calls in the weeks following to fine tune the designs and prepare them to be shown for review by the mission president. When the 9 designs were all complete JD laser etched them into wood prototypes so we could all envision what each brick design would look like. He made 4 copies of the prototypes. One set for Kaylea’s parents, one set for the church headquarters, one for the mission president, and one for us.

“A small miracle happened, our kids were actually headed to Nauvoo with our Stake for a youth trip. So, we boxed up the prototypes nicely and our children hand delivered them to their grandparents. This was very cool! Kaylea’s parents then shared them with their mission president. They were all grateful to have the samples to kind of bring to life what the brick would look like, if chosen. They sent one set off to church headquarters and one design was favored by them and the Mission President. Kaylea’s parents were told which design was selected and then from there it took off and Kaylea’s brother Keith was asked to help bring our design to life in 3D CAD. He did a wonderful job creating it into what was needed for production. And Kaylea’s parents were there with every step pushing it along. They found out what company made the last mold and got them involved in making the new mold. And once that happened, it really took off. Within a short time period, it was all done and ready to go. Kaylea’s parents sent us pictures of the sample product and it sure looked good! It got us very excited. It was fun to see our creation come to life.

“As we were involved in this process our hearts turned to thoughts of Gramps often.He would be so happy that we got to be part of this process. We found a font for the words NAUVOO that looked like the same font Gramps used on his design. We wanted to carry on one piece of his original design to give it an authentic feel. We know that he would have been happy with the whole scenario. And it made us think about the early Saints and all they went through to build the beautiful Temple and the City of Nauvoo. It was an honor to be able to immortalize what they created into a brick to be remembered for generations to come.
We were glad that we had design knowledge so that Kaylea’s parents thought of getting us involved in this project. It was such a unique experience to be part of. And we will never forget it. Our testimonies were strengthened while we worked on this sacred assignment. It was a joy to carry on Gramps’ legacy. The whole process of how this came about was a tender mercy from the Lord. We know that Kaylea’s parents were at the right place at the right time. And that Gramps was probably involved in making it happen too. He was a go-getter and probably still is up in heaven. We definitely felt his spirit with us as we worked through the design process. We were grateful for the amazing opportunity to be part of the new design and loved how it turned out! It’s beautiful! We can’t wait to see it on the mantle of homes throughout the world!”

Joseph (JD) and Kaylea Stoddard

FEBRUARY 4TH – TUESDAY
“Today proved to be a glorious day! Wow!”

Above: Elders Kevin Hunt and Bruce Rieske with Corey Miller of Midwest – Running a test on the mold prototype

“Corey Miller, of Midwest Patterns, called. He said that he had a test mold for the bricks. He wanted to come up there this afternoon to test the mold. He came here at 1:30 PM. We rode with him over to the nearby brickyard. Elder Rieske met us there. We used three pugs and pressed them into the mold. Lou and I engraved one brick for us and the Rieske’s did likewise. It was fun to have Corey here with us.”

FEBRUARY 8TH – SUNDAY
“At 11:00 AM, we met Alex – the newly hired “sites manager” for the church and Curtis Ashcroft (a Church History guy from Salt Lake at Church). I introduced ourselves to both. We also talked about the pending new brick. We have been dealing with Curtis – but only via text and email. I showed him the photo of the new brick. Today after we introduced ourselves, Curtis suggested that we meet at the brick yard to look at the new brick. We met them over there at 11 AM.”

“Curtis did not have much to say so it was hard to get a “read” on him. Alex, on the other hand was more vocal. He immediately said that he loves the design but wishes that the brick writing would go “down” rather than sticking up as it does. I think that it is probably too late to make such a major change but we will talk to the Midwest folks. I later talked to Elder Rieske and we both (and Lou) likes the new look.”

FEBRUARY 17TH – MONDAY
“Sister Rieske knocked on our door. She brought the three original new Nauvoo bricks over for us to see. They were just out of the kiln from firing. They look very cool. I sent a copy of the photo off to our family. I also sent a copy to Corey Miller at Midwest. He called us and is pleased with the product so far. They are proceeding with their production of the molds. It is getting closer! Yay!”

FEBRUARY 20TH – THURSDAY
“We received a really great phone call this morning. Corey Miller – of Midwest Patterns called us. He said that our new brick molds were now complete. We decided to make a rush trip down to Quincy to retrieve them. We called Elder Sanders (finally) and since we had a tour, we were way down the list for another one.”

“We called Corey and said that we were on our way. It took us about an hour to get down to his place. Corey was excited to share the finished product with us. The new molds looked great. We were very happy. He helped us pack up the various items. We were surprised that he actually gave us the “pattern” from which new molds can be created in the future. Corey helped us get the molds put into our vehicle. We have enjoyed working with Corey. He has been fabulous. We have appreciated his commitment to us and his great customer service.”

Above: Acquiring the completed molds from Midwest Patterns. Lower: Orange “Pattern” for making future molds

Above: Testing the new mold with a clump of clay at Midwest

Above: Kevin and Lou receiving the new Temple Brick Molds

FEBRUARY 21ST – FRIDAY
“Last night I wrote President Mehr and told him that we have the new brick mold in hand. He said, “Great. We will be back tomorrow. I would like to see those molds sometime this next week.”

[We had sent one full set of the old molds with Corey to Midwest so that they could make sure that the new molds were created properly. This meant that we had a couple of weeks with just one mold set with which to create new bricks.[ “Elder Rieske called me today. He said, “Did you know that the extra set of brick molds showed up today?” I said, “Oh, so they just mysteriously showed up?” I told him that we had put them there. He then said, “Do we have any idea when the new molds will be completed?” I said, “Yes, we have them at our house.” By this time curiosity was getting the best of him. (He is the coordinator for the brick yard.) He is anxious to start creating the new bricks. I told him that I wanted to show the mold to Pres. Mehr next week – before we start any action.”

FEBRUARY 26TH – WEDNESDAY
“Lou decided that she wanted to take the new brick that we fabricated – and the new molds to go show President and Sister Mehr. She also wanted to package up some of our food from last night to take to them. So, we took all of that in hand. We found them downstairs doing their exercises and it took them a few minutes for them to answer the door.”
“The Mehrs were very happy about the way that the brick and the molds turned out. We sat and talked to them for quite a while. President Mehr wants us (missionaries) to start making the new bricks right away. He said, “LET’S MAKE BRICK!” The challenge is that we have 17,000 Nauvoo bricks on hand at present. So, that is a challenge to get give all of those away.”

“We had also taken the orange pattern for the brick to see what he wanted done with it. He said that it should go to Facilities Maintenance for their safekeeping. So, on our way home, we took the pattern over to Jordan Bodily – the FM Manager. And he was actually in his office this time. He loved the mold design and he said that he knows just the place to keep the pattern safe. With the pattern, additional molds can be created.”

AND THAT BRINGS US BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED – ON THE MIRACLE DAY OF FEBRUARY 27, 2025
Yes, that day of February 27th was indeed a miracle day. Sister Hunt and I had worked toward this day for many months. It was great to see it all come together. And the new bricks were really magnificent.

Though a Sunday, Sister Hunt and I went to the Brickyard on March 2nd. It was the third day since production of the first run bricks and per the schedule, these bricks needed to be “trimmed” on this date. We used a sanding block and cleaned off the “shaggy edges” left on the bricks from mold process.

Above: Trimming the new Temple Bricks

Above: Sister Lou Hunt trimming 1st Kiln run Bricks

Above: First Kiln Run Bricks on Drying Racks

Above: New Temple Bricks awaiting Firing

Above: Original Nauvoo Brick and the new Nauvoo Temple Bricks drying together on the drying racks

Then on Friday, March 7th, we were assigned to the Brickyard for a normal shift. We were there with Elder and Sister Pearce. Sister Hunt and I put all of the “first run” bricks (ours and those of the other whom we helped) into the kiln.

Above: Putting 1st Run Temple Bricks into the Kiln

There were other bricks already in the kiln and we had exactly enough room to add our “flats” of bricks into the kiln.

We called Elder Rieske and he came over and started the kiln – for the baking process. He got the kiln started and the temperature of the unit began to climb even as we were still there. We are on target for the bricks to come out of the kiln on March 9th – the 110th anniversary of the birthday of Elder E.H. “Gramps” Belcher (as the family knew him).

Above: Red Hot Kiln (coils) firing the Original Temple Bricks

Above: Kiln firing with temperature up to 1704 Degrees – so far

REMOVING THE FIRST NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK FROM THE KILN ON MARCH 9, 2025 – 110 BIRTHDAY FOR ELDER BELCHER

Late in the afternoon, Lou and I went over to the Brickyard.  She dressed in her new red dress.  I wore a matching red and blue shirt, brown pants, red suspenders, and the brown hat of Gramps Belcher.  Lou had a small cake – banana cake left from the Ballards and a tea light on top.  We went over to take a few of our customized bricks out of the kiln.  We did this in honor of the 110^th anniversary of the birthday of Gramps Belcher.    It was exciting that the bricks came out of the kiln on his birthday.  I am sure that he would be pleased.

Upon arrival, we found the kiln open for the bricks to cool down.  The kiln was full – with about 1,000 bricks inside.  About 300 of the bricks in there are our “first run” bricks for the new Nauvoo Temple design.  We took a pair of metal tongs to pull the hot bricks out of the kiln.  We took photos of each of us getting some bricks out.  The bricks for the Mehr’s were on top so we had to go down a layer.  We did find our bricks.

I had taken a piece of board – on which to highlight the bricks and this worked well.  We took photos with a few bricks, the board, us, and two signs – one that said “Happy Birthday” and one which said first fired bricks.  We took some photos inside and some outside by the kiln that Gramps Belcher created when he was in Nauvoo in 1980.  We were kind of handicapped in our attempt to take a selfie – with a timer.  (Where was Kaylea when we needed her?).  We did get some good photos.

We are both excited that we have now brought this project to fruition.  It has been a journey but we are so grateful that we have had the opportunity to be a part of it.  It is a great blessing that President Mehr felt inspired to involve us with the development of the new brick.

This is all so exciting. What a great tribute to the “Nauvoo Brickmaker”. We are happy that everything came together (though we didn’t plan it ahead) so that Elder Belcher can remembered for his work on the Nauvoo Brick. We are in awe for the many miracles that came together – for the Lord – as everything has come together. It has been such a great blessing opportunity for Sister Hunt and me to be a part of these miracles. And thus, the Belcher Brick Legacy continues.

And so the new Nauvoo Temple brick has officially been launched. And the Nauvoo missionaries will make the new bricks furiously over the next couple of months in anticipation of the many folks who will soon come to Nauvoo. We will continue to give out the Nauvoo Brick to any interested person – and for as long as the new inventory lasts, we will plan to give out one per family of the new Nauvoo Temple Bricks. We look forward to sharing these special bricks.

THE NEW BRICK POINTS US ALL TO THE TEMPLE
While we can celebrate the mechanics of the creation and production of the new brick, we should not lose sight of the true meaning of the new brick. It’s focus is, of course, the Nauvoo Temple. That is what we really need to celebrate.

Here in Nauvoo as we give tours of restored homes and shops, we meet many families who come to Nauvoo with attending the Temple part of their visit to this sacred ground of Nauvoo. Many families come to take their children to perform Temple baptisms. And many of the adults take turns with one spouse doing an Endowment session and the other touring with the children – and then they switch roles. It is so special to feel the enthusiasm of these families. It is a beautiful thing to see them making the Temple a focus.

For many years, our Hunt family participated in the casts of the Mesa Arizona Temple “Jesus the Christ Easter Pageant”. The initial all-day first practice for the pageant was always fun. It reminded me of King Benjamin in the Book of Mosiah. As he preached and taught the people, they had gathered from all over the land. It may have been a hot day (as it often was with our Easter practices).

And to listen to King Benjamin, the people gathered in tents – as generations of families together. The record says, “And it came to pass that when they came up to the Temple, they pitched their tents round about every man according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, from the oldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another. And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the Temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them. (Mosiah 2:5-6)

This was exactly what we did when in the Easter Pageant cast. It was a beautiful scene as everyone “faced the Temple” together”. I love this scene as recorded in Mosiah and it was great to have the same Temple experience with my own family. And that is what the families do as they come here to Nauvoo. (Except that now they come and stay in their AirBnB) These generations of families face the Temple and enjoy and feel this wonderful Nauvoo. It is a beautiful thing.

And now the new Nauvoo Temple Brick can help our visiting guests to remember the Temple gathering experiences that they shared with their families here in Nauvoo. That is what the Lord and the Church would want us visualize and to remember.

It will be a grand thing when our guests go home with their Nauvoo Temple Bricks and put them up on their mantles and special places – as they have the Nauvoo Brick for the past 45 years. And each time they (individually and as a gathered family) look up to the brick, they will be reminded again to “look up to the Temple”.

It is much more than just some red Nauvoo bricks. It is more than a souvenir. Yes, it is a memory of Nauvoo, but it is also a living reminder that we need to point ourselves toward the Temple. And it is our hope that the new Nauvoo Temple will help accomplish this goal and that it will be around for another 50 years!

Hope you like the birthday present, Gramps! Thanks for starting the Nauvoo Brick legacy. It has been our great honor and privilege as your children and grandchildren to carry on that legacy. Bricks, families, and Temples … they all seem to go together. And we know that you know this. Families, like bricks, and with the Temple can build a strong foundation for now and for future generations. Solid, enduring, and magnificent as the Nauvoo red bricks!